Q. Can prayers cure diseases when doctors fail? Is it true that more things are wrought by prayers than the world could dream of?

A. Doctors and medicines are only instruments in the hands of God. Unless God wills, none can cure, or get cured. Man should do his best, with initiative, enterprise and perseverance, but depend on God’s grace for everything. To bear with suffering and accept it as a blessing of God in disguise is great wisdom. Prayer invokes the inner potentialities of the individual, which flow only from God, and they can certainly work miracles.

Q. You state that aspirants in the Nivritti Marga should have a little money in the bank or must depend on alms. Now I have no money and I do not like to beg from door to door, but I am very anxious to take sannyasa. Will you kindly suggest a method to quench my thirst?

A. There are beautiful ashrams throughout India where Nishkamya Seva is carried out. They are always in need of sincere and energetic workers. You can remain in any one of the ashrams and help in the ashram’s activities. They will take care of your material wants. Do not be changing from one ashram to another. Select the best that suits you and stick to it.

Q. I have read that a person, after receiving initiation from one Guru, can, if he finds a better person, become the latter’s disciple; and that though he has ceased to be the former’s disciple, he should have respect for him also. What is your view?

A. The vast majority of people do not enjoy the good fortune of coming into contact with a God-realized saint. What happens in their case is this. Traditionally, each family has a Guru-Parampara. Each sect has its own sectional Guru. The aspirant born in a particular sect has, by that mere fact, to accept the Guru of the sect as his own Guru. This Guru is by no means fit to be called so, according to the standards set by our shastras. He is not a spiritual personality, but a religious person. He does not possess adhyatmic realization, but is appointed as a religious leader in order not to keep this traditional post vacant. The aspirant takes him as his Guru and receives initiation from him. He practices sadhana according to his Guru’s teachings and up to a certain point he can certainly progress. Up to this point only that Guru himself has gone! To go beyond that stage, that Guru cannot guide the aspirant, because he is not a God-realized sage. At that stage, if the sadhak happens to meet a Guru of higher achievements, he can certainly become his disciple. In fact, if his first Guru is sincere, he himself will direct the disciple to the feet of another Guru of higher achievements.

If this question of changing the Guru arises in an aspirant who has already received initiation from a Guru who has reached the highest stage, the defect is in the aspirant, not in the Guru. And, even if the aspirant goes to another Guru, this ‘want’ cannot be fulfilled. He must correct the defect in himself and stick to his Guru; he must banish the desire to change his Guru.

Scriptures tell us that if we have once accepted a Brahma-Nishtha as our Guru, we should not change our allegiance to another Guru. The spiritual connection or link is eternal. If an aspirant tries to break it and runs after all kinds of siddhas and jnanis, he cannot progress even an inch on the path. The ideal is beautifully stated in the Upanishadic Mantra:

“Yasya Deve Para Bhaktihi, Yatha Deve Thatha Gurow, Tasyaite Kathithahyartha, Prakasante Mahatmanah”

It means: He who has supreme devotion to God, and as much devotion to his Guru as he has to God, to him the truths of the Upanishads shall be revealed. If devotion to God cannot be changed, devotion to the Guru also cannot be changed.

Do not forget the glorious example of Ekalavya. He did not have even a sight of the Guru; yet, his devotion was so great that he took a mere image to be his living Guru and his Bhavana was so intense that this mud-Guru taught him the great secrets of archery. Here it is bhavana that really counts.

Upa-Gurus, however, can be countless; this is what the life of the Avadhuta that is narrated in the Bhagawad teaches us. We should respect all saints. The spiritual Guru sows the spiritual seed in us. It is our business to water it, to make it grow in us, so that it might, in time, yield the delicious fruit of Self-realization.

Q. I desire to reduce my sleeping hours and have control over sleep. Can I take recourse to any medicine?

A. You should not reduce your sleep by the use of medicine. That will affect your system. Sufficient rest must be given to the body through sleep. When you regularly enter into deep meditation, the system derives considerable rest and automatically sleep can then be reduced. That will not affect your health.

Sleep should be reduced gradually and cautiously. Now, for a month go to bed at 9.30 p.m. and get up at 4 a.m. After a month, go to bed at 10 p.m. and get up at 3.30 a.m. Again, after a month go to bed at 10.30 p.m. and get up at 3 a.m. Thus, by gradual means you can reduce your sleep. Sleeping in day-time must be avoided.

Q. If God is almighty and all-powerful, why can’t He see that everybody does his actions properly?

A. Everybody does his actions properly. A thief must pilfer things. A scoundrel must do wrong actions. These are kartavya. Remember this world is Trigunatmic and relative. Every movement of the foot, every step, is an attempt towards Sat-chit-ananda. The world is a relative plane. Prostitutes, saints, rogues, beggars, kings are all doing their respective duties. Good and evil are relative terms. Evil exists to glorify good. Hatred exists to glorify love. A rogue is not an eternal rogue. He can become a saint within the twinkling of an eye when he is placed in proper sattvic company.